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VATICAN CITY — In his letter to Irish Catholics, Pope Benedict apologized to victims of sexual abuse, urged abusive priests to admit their crimes and criticized bishops for “inadequate” handling of abuse allegations.

The full text is here on a new Vatican Web “resources page” on sexual abuse, which includes links to past speeches by the pope, other Vatican statements and documents, and a video of the pope announcing his letter to Irish Catholics.

Here are some key excerpts from the 4,600-word letter, released today at the Vatican.

The pope began by saying he shares in the “sense of betrayal” felt by Catholics at the acts of abuse and the way bishops dealt with them:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Church in Ireland, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.

Then the pope said healing of the wounds will require full disclosure of past failings and vigilance in the future:

At the same time, I must also express my conviction that, in order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenseless children. Such an acknowledgement, accompanied by sincere sorrow for the damage caused to these victims and their families, must lead to a concerted effort to ensure the protection of children from similar crimes in the future.

He connected the scandal to several factors, including a general weakening of faith in Ireland, a traditionally Catholic country:

Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values. All too often, the sacramental and devotional practices that sustain faith and enable it to grow, such as frequent confession, daily prayer and annual retreats, were neglected. Significant too was the tendency during this period, also on the part of priests and religious, to adopt ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel. The program of renewal proposed by the Second Vatican Council was sometimes misinterpreted and indeed, in the light of the profound social changes that were taking place, it was far from easy to know how best to implement it. In particular, there was a well-intentioned but misguided tendency to avoid penal approaches to canonically irregular situations. It is in this overall context that we must try to understand the disturbing problem of child sexual abuse, which has contributed in no small measure to the weakening of faith and the loss of respect for the Church and her teachings.

Other factors were poor selection and training of priests, and a “misplaced concern for the reputation of the church,” he said:

Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favor the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person.

The pope, after saying he would be willing to meet with victims of abuse, apologized to them in his letter:

You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears the wounds of his own unjust suffering.

He had harsh words for priests who abused children:

You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonor upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions…. I urge you to examine your conscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God’s forgiveness and the grace of true amendment. By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God’s justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.

He told bishops that some of them had made “grave errors of judgment” in dealing with sex abuse allegations:

It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence.

The pope announced an apostolic visitation of some dioceses and institutions in Ireland, as well as a year of penitential reparation and spiritual renewal, saying the church needs not only norms to deal with specific cases of abuse but also broader measures:

In confronting the present crisis, measures to deal justly with individual crimes are essential, yet on their own they are not enough: a new vision is needed, to inspire present and future generations to treasure the gift of our common faith…. In solidarity with all of you, I am praying earnestly that, by God’s grace, the wounds afflicting so many individuals and families may be healed and that the Church in Ireland may experience a season of rebirth and spiritual renewal.

He urged young people in Ireland not to cut themselves off from the church:

We are all scandalized by the sins and failures of some of the Church’s members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Finally, he expressed his confidence that the church was on the right track in addressing the problem of abuse:

Since the time when the gravity and extent of the problem of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions first began to be fully grasped, the Church has done an immense amount of work in many parts of the world in order to address and remedy it. While no effort should be spared in improving and updating existing procedures, I am encouraged by the fact that the current safeguarding practices adopted by local Churches are being seen, in some parts of the world, as a model for other institutions to follow.

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8 Responses

All too often, in the heat of the so called renewal after the Second Vatican Council, much was done that stripped away our moral bearings, especially in our catholic schools, universities, seminaries and religious institutions. That reality can still be seen today when groups like the Leadership Conference for Women Religious or the leadership group of Catholic hospitals undermine the authority and teaching of the Church in their support of health care legislation that will fund and encourage abortions. Bishops, priests and religious faithful to the Truth must stand firm in condemning moral relevancy and in fighting the secular ideologies that have permeated so many of our Catholic institutions. Catholic schools must again be called to accountability in teaching the Truth. Seminaries and religious institutes must again be places where solid Catholic life is lived and taught. Bishops, priests and religious must be held accountable for preaching the Truth and when they don’t, then they need to be called to account. There must be a return to the Faith as it has been handed down to us from Apostolic times. Faith in The Way, The Truth and The Life not as the world wants it or as it makes one feel good but to the Truth as it always has been. That is what the Church has lost since Vatican II.

No one can strip away someones moral basis , the notion that it is a scarf or a pair of socks to be discarded with the ease of a fashion whim is an insult to millions of intelligent people.
Teaching the truth rather than protecting The Catholic Church should never be offered as the single alternative , and blaming secularists for lack of faith is quite ridiculous, removing the barrier between the Bible and the faithfull is far more
important than a few Cardinals or Bishops or priests careers !

Anthony T. said it all and I agree with him. The world
has invaded many in the Church and we don’t want
a watered down Church. We have a great Pope and
his writings and invocations will lead us on the
right path. Thank you Anthony and all!

This business of sexual abuse was not so much about the failure of Vatican II. It was, first of all, about deep, inalterable charactor defects of those involved in the abuse or sexual immaturity and confusion. It was also about the delusion that the behaviour of these priests was some how linked to a treatable, “sexual addiction”. These priests were purposely shuffled from parish to parich, diocese to diocese and, yes, even country to country while undergoing therapy for sexual addiction which, in addition to prayer and reflection was supposed to solved the problem. Priests were treated for “sex addiction” because of the privacy protection addiction is afforded under federal law. Priests were shuffled from Europe, especially England and Ireland to the USA. Sometimes they were returned to the native countries,sometimes they were transferred to Parishs in the US. PLEASE KNOW: Sexual abuse is not an addiction. It is a crime of agression which has at it’s core the dominence of another human being!! Those who commit it lack something very basic in their personality MOST IMPORTANTLY compassion. In other cases this inappropriate, childish behaviour that speaks of sexual immaturity and confusion. This calls for a deep examination of the screening process and priest recriutment. It calls for a deep and searching examination of sexual issues in the Church especially sexual celabacy for priests. I believe the existance of homosexual subcultures within our monestaries and seminaries contibutes to the maintainance of sexual immaturity and confusion, ESPECIALLY where a homosexual subculture is tolerated. This existed before Vatican II but Vatican II didn’t help any with it’s emphasis on individual conscience etc leading to what many call moral relativity. AND YES all this is connected the the acceptability of abortion, gay marriage etc.

Sexual abuse is against the law, and has been against the law for many years. The crimes against children robbed them of their youth and lives with them forever. Nothing will change that. While other issues are important today, such as abortion, etc., the fact is that sexual abuse is a crime, and should be treated as such, in the government legal system where it occurred, not covered up by our beloved church. It is time for all of us to state that we will not stand for abuse or its coverup. We will not fund it with our hard earned donations. It is time for our Bishops and the Vatican to face the hard fact that pulling priests from only half of the population, and then requiring celebacy within that population, has pulled in aberrant men who should not be in the priesthood. It is time for that to change. It is time to allow those who are married to the priesthood. It is time to start the discussion to allow women to the priesthood. It is time to re-think our clergy completely, before those of us left in our beloved church leave our chuch. Our church is not just our clergy. We need to take back our church as the one church of Christ, that is committed to a healthy clergy free from the issues priests with aberrant behaviors have shamed all of us with. Prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, and begin the conversation of changing the clergy. The damn is about to break, and many more Catholics will leave without these bold committments to the winds of change.

This is very sad and why some Catholics are losing faith and why some are joining other churches like the Orthodox Church in America because their bishops have roots directly back to the apostles as well. Since these churches have married priests or ministers they have not had a major child abuse problem either. When you allow married men to apply the pool of men who can become a priest is over 4 times greater, reducing the chance a predator can become a priest. I believe today most lay people would go straight to the police instead of the church for child abuse cases. Only Christ’s judgement will be able to give justice to these victims.